Run, Steve, Run
| Special = | Introducing = | Appearance = | Also = | Co = | With = | Uncredited = | Uncertain = | Producer = Sam Strangis and Donald R. Boyle | Writer = Lionel E. Siegel | Teleplay = | Story = | Director = Jerry Jameson | Production = 40025 | Original = April 26, 1974 | Prev = The Coward | Next = Nuclear Alert | Related = Day of the Robot Return of the Robot Maker }} Convinced by Oscar that he needs to rest, Steve travels to Utah to visit an old friend, only to discover that his bionics are being put to the test by an old nemesis, Dr. Dolenz, the robot maker. Summary Robot creator Jeffrey Dolenz is hired by crime boss Mr. Rossi to build a team of bionic robots to steal gold from Fort Knox. To assist him in his planning, Dolenz closely monitors Steve Austin and sabotages an elevator on a construction site to test his bionic abilities. Steve manages to halt the plummeting elevator using his bionic arm and, shaken by his close escape, reports the incident to OSI head, Oscar Goldman. Certain that someone who has knowledge of his bionic strength is out to get him, Steve speculates on who that person might be. However, Oscar is unconvinced. Steve decides to get away from Washington and flies to Salt Lake City to stay with an old family friend, Tom Molson, on his ranch. He is collected at the airport by Suzie Lund, the beautiful, but insecure, daughter of Molson’s partner. Early the next morning, Suzie arranges some bull riding and, eager to prove herself to the men, has the first ride. When she is subsequently thrown from her horse and badly winded, Steve races to her rescue. Unaware that Dolenz and Rossi have followed him to Utah and are watching closely from a distance, Steve later reflects further on who may be behind the attempt on his life. He recalls his fight with the Fred Sloan robot and the fact that Dolenz later evaded capture. Steve then telephones Oscar in Washington and asks him to find out the latest on Dolenz’s whereabouts. Later, Steve and Suzie go riding and, during a pause to tie up some stray horses, one of Rossi’s men deliberately fires a rifle at Suzie's horse, causing it to panic and bolt. Steve runs after the rider and horse at bionic speed and soon captures and restrains them. A fascinated Dr. Dolenz informs Rossi that he calculates that Steve was running at 61 mph, but an unimpressed Rossi replies that he has had enough of observing Steve; the time has now come to capture him and analyse his bionics more closely. Back at the ranch, Steve also tries his hand at some bull riding and, with his bionic strength, he quickly tames his mount. He then takes a telephone call from Oscar, who informs him that Dr. Dolenz is still a wanted man and that flight records indicate that Dolenz was on the same plane as Steve when he flew out to Salt Lake City. Now certain of the identity of his assailant, Steve obtains some provisions from Molson and rides off to a remote part of the ranch in search of Dolenz. Suzie attempts to follow Steve, but he insists that she go back. Before long, he is confronted by two of Rossi’s men; during a fight with them, he is rendered unconscious by two tranquilizer darts fired into his back. Fortunately, Suzie sees what has happened and rides back to the ranch at great speed to raise the alarm. Steve is taken to a barn where his arms are chained to the roof beams and his feet encased in concrete. Dr. Dolenz prepares to cut open Steve’s bionic arm, but Steve warns him about the danger of radiation from the atomic power source. Meanwhile, Molson and his men come to the rescue on horseback and a gunfight takes place. With his captors distracted, Steve uses his bionic strength to free himself. When Rossi and his men flee in a truck, Steve runs after them, eventually brings the truck to a standstill and captures the men. However, Dr. Dolenz manages to sneak out of the barn and, once again, avoids capture. Deconstructed Quotes Dolenz: (explaining his plans for Steve to Rossi) Because that isn't the way science works, Mr. Rossi. First, we must have research, observation to determine his capabilities. Then we take him apart. ---- Dolenz: He's the reason my first robot's in the junkyard. Rossi: Dr. Dolenz, we're paying you to build a team of robots that can rob Fort Knox. Now, just what has the man out there have to do with that? Dolenz: I'm not going to build another robot only to have him destroyed by that man out there. My next robot is going to be stronger and better than Steven Austin. ---- Suzie: In case you're wondering, I work at the range.....'cause I'm a super rider....and 'cause my, eh, uncle's Tom's partner. Steve: I see. ---- Tom: How 'bout you, Steve? What have you been up to since you raised all that dust on the moon? Steve: Oh, nothing much. ---- Steve: (referring to Suzie's horse) Kind of a mean-looking fellow there. Suzie: His name is Doomsday. I decide to ride him once or twice before breakfast. Steve: What if Doomsday decides to have you for breakfast? ---- Steve: Dr. Dolenz, I presume? Dolenz: Jeffrey Dolenz, inventor of the robot. I'm sorry about the concrete around your legs and the, eh, chains around your arms, but they're necessary precautions. Steve: I understand. ---- Dolenz: (referring to the Fred Sloan robot) Tell me, when did you first suspect he was a robot? Steve: (thoughtful, then responds) Well, he squeaked when he walked. Dolenz: (indignant) He did not squeak when he walked. He was perfect in every way. In almost every way. Trivia Cast * Guest Star Melissa Greene is listed as and introducing in the opening credits. Reportedly, this is due to her being considered a "protege" of producer Harve Bennett's. * Noah Beery, Jr. plays Tom Molson. This episode aired before the premiere of The Rockford Files on September 13, 1974. The second season of the SMDM also premiered on September 13, 1974. Beery was a regular cast member on The Rockford Files, playing the part of Jim Rockford's father, Joseph "Rocky" Rockford. Beery returned to SMDM in 1976 playing a different character in "The Bionic Badge." Storyline * This episode, the first-season finale, incorporates lengthy flashbacks to other episodes in the season. This type of episode is often called a "flashback" episode or a "clip show", and were commonplace in American episodic television as they allowed less-expensive storylines to be told while utilizing previously shot footage, and often aired near the end of a season (other examples: Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Shades of Grey" and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century's "Happy Birthday Buck"). "Run, Steve, Run" is atypical as it tells a more involved storyline to go along with the flashbacks, however the basic storyline - of Austin puzzling out who might be out to get him - is similar to the Buck Rogers clip show mentioned above. * We learn that Stanley Bacon ("Population: Zero") did indeed die in the van explosion caused by Austin. Bionic Ability * Dolenz calculates that Steve exerts a force equal to that needed to lift 2,420 pounds six feet off the ground. Bionics * When Steve is being tested by Dolenz in the stable he warns him not to cut into his bionic arm. He states that if Dolenz cuts into the atomic power supply, the radiation will kill them all. Steve may have been bluffing, but Dolenz considers the warning reasonable and assumes that there is a layer of shielding that would contain the atomic power supply. Gaffes Continuity * At the beginning of this episode, Steve is talking to his friend Art Ramirez about a possible job offer, while Dr. Dolenz and Mr Rossi are observing with binoculars from an office building above and across the street. The binocular view shows Steve and Art standing on the 5th floor of a building construction site in an open area. However, when the close-up shots of Steve and Art are revealed, Steve is leaning against a metal fence railing at the far left side of the 5th floor open area. * Dr. Dolenz's first name is said to be Jeffrey. This is contradicted by the later episode Return of the Robot Maker, where he states his name is Chester. * When Steve pushes the start button for the elevator to come up to the 5th floor level, the camera shot shows the elevator going up with a construction worker inside the elevator. However, on teaching the top floor, the elevator appears empty as Steve gets on the elevator and closes the door. As the sabotaged elevator plunges, it is obvious no one but Steve is in the elevator. * Credit where credit is due -- The scene of Steve Austin on the plane heading to Salt Lake City appears to be recycled footage from "Population: Zero". When Steve is in the phone booth outside the airport (filmed for this episode), he is wearing the same tan leisure suit with dark brown shirt. Credibility * When Dr. Dolenz does his calculations in the opening scene, he adds Steve's weight as 589 and pushed the square root key. Interesting way to calculate a weight variable for the force exerted to stop the fall of an elevator. * Regarding the fall, Steve's hand shows absolutely no signs of damage after applying enough force to halt a very heavy elevator. Yet in the first movie, after rescuing a boy from an overturned van, the mere act of bashing a seat tore open the "plastiskin" covering to reveal the inner workings of his bionic arm. * Additionally, what would have really happened during the falling elevator scene would be that as soon as Steve firmly gripped the wires, he would've stopped in place while the elevator continued away to the ground without him. The only way what we see in this scene could have occurred was if Steve was somehow physically attached to the elevator. * Dolenz calculates that Steve needed to run 61 mph in order to catch up with Suzie's bolting horse. This is unlikely as in 2010 the fastest recorded speed for a thoroughbred racehorse is only in the 43-45 mph range and the record was likely much lower in 1974. Put another way, the horse would have had to be traveling at highway velocity. ** Note: It is possible that Dr. Dolenz was only referring to the speed Steve had to run in order to catch up to the horse. The horse had a head start, so Steve had to run faster than the horse in order to catch up to it. If he ran only as fast as the horse, he never would've caught it. This might allow for Steve to achieve 61 mph while allowing the horse's speed to remain within normal parameters. Illusion Breaker * When Steve is shot in the upper back with the tranquilizing darts, a thick lump indicating padding can be seen under his (i.e., the stuntman's) jacket. * When Steve jumps from high above into the flatbed of the truck, his weight of almost 600 pounds would have made the truck bounce up and down significantly, including denting the bed. And the people inside the truck would certainly have noticed this. * The truck's windshield, which Steve punches through, is not laminated vehicle windshield glass, as it really would and should be. * When Steve has his legs blocked by cement, he twists and hangs with his hands. This should be possible only if he had both arms bionic. Oddities * When Suzie collects Steve at the phone booth, and they start walking away, for some reason Lee Majors jerks his head to the side, as if he'd run it into something, like a branch. But there doesn't appear to be any obstacle that would have caused him to do this. Gallery Image:RSR-Steve At The Molson Ranch.jpg|Steve at the Molson Ranch Image:RSR-Steve Saves Suzie.jpg|Steve helps Suzie. Image:Th-1x13_-_The_Six_Million_Dollar_Man_-_Run,_Steve,_Run.jpg 113